Chemicals maker, Mexichem SAB has bought over 15 companies since 2007, is seeking to develop Mexico’s first shale gas projects, if the country sells licenses that would bypass a monopoly on fossil fuels.
Mexichem chairman emeritus Antonio del Valle Ruiz said that there are several petrochemical areas with growth opportunities for the company where they do not currently have a presence, such as shale gas and that in order to bypass the government’s petroleum monopoly without changing the law, Mexico would need to offer shale-gas projects as mining permits.
Energy minister Jordy Herrera has said that the state-run oil producer Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), lacks the budget to increase deep-water drilling and to develop shale gas deposits. The country is thought to have as much as 460trillion cubic feet of natural gas in shale rock formations and that shale projects could bring in investments of US10 billion annually.
Mexichem has met with regulatory delays to start a joint venture with Pemex after they announced a US556 million vinyl chloride production venture, but hope to start operations by the end of the year. The main obstacle being faced in the development of the shale gas industry is government bureaucracy stalling the progress of plans to auction licenses.